Apparatus for steam treating a deep well



Nev. 14, 1967 I W, N gu L F ET AL 3,352,359

APPARATUS FOR STEAM TREATING A DEEP WELL' Filed June 10, 1965 I5Sheets-Sheet 1 25* Zifir y r L52 5 54'? W E"! 45 I /v WAYNE msururr a.

MERYL W.$UTLIFF. INVENTORS.

w. N. SUTLIFF ET AL 3,352,359

APPARATUS FOR STEAM TREATING A DEEP WELL Nov. 14, 1967 3 Sheets-Shea, 2515.

Bar.

WAYNE N. sururr a.

B 0 M U0 TT Um wm m AT TORNEY.

1967 w. N. SUTLIFF T AL 3,352,359

'APPARATUS FOR STEAM TREATING A DEEP WELL I Filed June 10, 1965 3Sheets-Sheet 5 I nhm l WAYNE N. SUTLIF F 8- M ERYL W. SUTLIF F 1NVENTORS BY AT TORNE Y- United States Patent 3,352,359 APPARATUS FORSTEAM TREATING A DEEP WELL Wayne N. Sutlilf and Meryl W. Sutlilr,Bakersfield, Califi, assignors to St. Louis Janitor Supply Co., doingbusiness as Navy Brand Manufacturing Company, St. Louis,

Mo., a corporation of Missouri Filed June 10, 1965, Ser. No. 462,925 4Claims. (Cl. 166-53) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention is used inan oil well having a well casing and a casing head at the upper endthereof, and includes a steam pipe which extends downwardly through thecasing head making a tight fit therewith, said steam pipe terminating atits lower end in an oil bearing stratum for delivery of steam into thelatter under high pressure. A thermal responsive packer surrounds thelower end portion of the steam pipe and responds to being heated by thesteam by expanding into contact with the casing thereby sealing oil thearea between the steam pipe and the casing and thereby confining thesteam delivered downwardly through the pipe to the oil bearing stratumbeing treated. Means is also provided for producing a vacuum around thesteam pipe throughout its length to insulate said pipe against loss ofheat radially therefrom.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field 0 the invention The art ofincreasing the productivity of a deep oil Well and particularly tolowering the viscosity of the oil in the oil bearing strata of the wellby steam treating the latter.

(2) Description of the prior art The general modus operandi of steamtreating a deep well is to force large quantities of steam at highpressure and temperature into the oil bearing strata of the well so asto decrease the viscosity of the oil and thereby increase the rate atwhich said oil may be recovered. Examples of this operation aredisclosed in the cited U.S. patents to P. I. Closmann et al. Nos.3,221,813 and 3,280,909.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention seeks to attain arelatively high degree of heat efiiciency in the application of steamtreating to deep oil wells by providing a novel and highly efiicientthermo-responsive packer which surrounds the lower end of the steam pipeand which contains a thermoresponsive material such as water orparaflin. The heating of this material by steam delivered downwardlythrough the steam pipe expands the tubular metal sleeve confining thismaterial, which is of a relatively ductile metal such as aluminum, untilthis sleeve has expanded into packing relation with the casing andeffectively seals oi? the space between the steam pipe and the casingthereby confining the steam delivered downwardly through the steam pipeto the oil bearing stratum directly therebelow.

The invention also includes a means for jacketing the steam pipe in avacuum throughout its length whereby radiation of heat from the steampipe is greatly reduced, thereby permitting steam to be delivered withincreased etficiency and relatively small drop in temperature to the oilbearing stratum of the Well.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic verticalsectional view of an oil well and illustrates a preferred embodiment ofthe present invention installed therein.

Patented Nov. 14, 1967 FIG. 2 (embracing FIGS. 2a and 2b) is an enlargedvertical sectional view of FIG. 1 and illustrates the packer of theapparatus of the invention with the expansible jacket thereof inretracted condition as when introduced into the Well.

FIG. 3 (embracing FIGS. 3a and 3b) is a view similar to FIG. 2 and showsthe packer jacket of the invention as when expanded into sealingengagement with the well casing.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 44 of FIG. 2a.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 3a.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 66 of FIG. 25.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 3a and illustrates a modifiedembodiment of the present invention in which an auxiliary vacuuminsulation sleeve is provided for the steam pipe of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of FIG. 2b.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 9-9 of FIG. 2a.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 1010 of FIG. 7.

Referring specifically to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1, theinvention is there shown as installed in a deep well 15, having a casing16, the lower portion 17 of said well extending below said casing intoan oil bearing stratum 18. The upper end of the casing 16 has a casinghead 19 provided with a central opening 20 having an O-ring 21 to form aseal between said opening and a steam pipe 22 of the invention whichslidably fits said hole and extends downwardly therethrough to the lowerend of the casing 16. The casing head 19 also has a vacuum pipe 23, thepurpose of which will be explained hereinafter. A short distance abovethe lower end of the casing 16, the steam pipe 22 connects through acoupling 24 with the upper end of a relatively heavy-walled tubularmandrel 25 which constitutes a continuation downwardly of the steam pipe22 and offers a means by which a packer 30 of the invention is supportedon said steam pipe. Near its lower end, the mandrel 25 is provided withthreads 31 on which is screwed a jacket supporting nut 32. Closelysurrounding the mandrel 25 and supported for lengthwise expansionthereon by the nut 32 is a radially thermo-expansive packer jacket 33.This jacket is preferably made of a ductile metal, such as aluminum, andincludes inner and outer concentric tubes 34 and 35. The inner tube iscylindrical in form and closely slidably fits the mandrel 25. The outertube 35 has end portions 36 which closely fit the corresponding portionsof the inner tube 34 and are welded thereto as by spot welding 37. Theouter tube 35 has annularly convoluted portions 38 just inwardly fromsaid end portions thereof, and a central cylindrical section 40 which isspaced radially from the inner tube 34 to provide an annular space 45.Snugly fitting onto the end portions 36 of outer tube 35 are a pair ofannular guide shoes 46 having radially projecting lugs 47 which slidablyengage the interior surface of the casing 16 so as to maintain thepacker 30 in centralized relation with the casing while being introducedinto the well. The guide shoes 46 are secured in place, after the packerjacket 33 has thus been assembled by spot welding 48. The shoes 46 andcomponents of the jacket arethen united by annular welding 49 applied ateach end of the jacket so that the annular space 45 is hermeticallyclosed. Prior to the assembly of packer jacket 33, however, a quantityof thermo-responsive material such as water or parafiin is placed in theannular space 45 so' that this space is substantially filled therewith.

As shown in FIG. 2, the central section 40 of the outer tube 35 of thepacker jacket 33, when in its contracted condition is closely spacedfrom the inner surface of the casing 16.

The tubular mandrel 25 is preferably integrally connected at its lowerend with a relatively thin walled tube 50 having multiple perforations51, and being closed at its lower'end by a plate 52.

Before the steam pipe 22 is inserted into the casing 16, the latter maybe provided with a perforated liner 53 which is generally suspended froma lower portion of the casing 16 and extended downwardly into the lowerportion 17 of the well. When the steam pipe 22, with the packer 30suspended thereon, is then extended into the well, the lowering of thepipe is halted when the packer reaches the position in which this isshown in FIG. 2 and in which the downwardly extending perforated tube 50provided on the lower end of the packer extends into the perforatedliner. 53. Thus the interior of the steam pipe 22 connects through theperforations 51 with the interior of the perforated liner 53 and throughthe perforations in the latter with the lower portion 17 of the well 15.

OPERATION In preparing to operate the apparatus above described inperforming the method of the .present invention, suitable means (notshown) are provided for delivering large quantities of steam at hightemperature and pressure to the upper end of. the steam pipe 22 and ahigh capacity evacuating pump is provided and connected to the vacuumpipe 23. At the start of the operation, steam is delivered downwardlythrough the steam pipe 22 so that this flows outwardly through theperforations 51 in tube 50 and through the perforations of the liner 53into the lower portions 17 of the well 15 and, the packer 30 not as yetbeing set, this steam flows upwardly past said packer and into the spacebetween the casing and the steam pipe where this steam is condensed bythe low temperature of the casing so as to provide a semi vacuum in thespace 54 within said casing and surrounding said steam pipe. As thecasing gets warmed up so that the steam is not. condensed, this is drawnoff from the upper end of the space 54 through the vacuum pipe 23.

The flow of steam just mentioned gradually raises the temperature of thesteam pipe 22 to a point well above the melting or vapor point of thethermo-responsive material contained within the annular space 45 withinthe packer jacket 33. Asthis temperature rises, said material vaporizesand produces a high pressure within the space 45 which expands the outertube 35 of thetpacker jacket 33 until this tightly conforms to the innersurface of the casing 16 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 thereby sealing offthe lower end of the annular space 54 formed within the casing 16 aroundthe pipe 2. With the packer 30 thus set against the inner face of thecasing 16, any return upwardly of the steam delivered downwardly throughsteam pipe 22 is prevented and the delivery of further steam down saidpipe builds up a very high steam pressure within the lower portion 17 ofthe deep well 15. This steam is thus caused to penetrate the oil bearingstrata 18 forming the walls of this lower well portion.

To assist in conserving the steam used in this operation and increasingthe over-all efiiciency of the apparatus, the evacuator connected tovacuum pipe 23 is maintained in operation and a relatively high vacuumis drawn on the annular space 54 to which the vacuum pipe 23 connects.The effect of this vacuum is of course to insulate the steam pipe 22 andsubstantially inhibit radiation of heat therefrom. It is thus possibleto deliver steam at a much higher temperature into the lower end of thewell than would otherwise be possible and to continue to deliver steamat this temperature with a minimum loss through radiation of heat fromthe steam pipe22.

When the teratment above described of the deep well 15 has continued forthe desired length of time, the

' delivery of steam to the steam pipe 22 is halted which results in thegradually cooling of the steam pipe and the packer 30 until thetemperature of the latter is below the condensing or solidifyingtemperature of the material which substantially occupies the annularspace 45 of the packer 30. When this decrease in temperature hasoccurred, the vacuum produced thereby in annular space 45 contracts theouter tube 35 away from contact with the casing 16 and thus permits theready withdrawal of the steam pipe 22 and packer 30 from the well 15.

Referring now to F168. 7 and 10, a modified form of the above describedapparatus of the invention is illustrated in which the upper end ofcasing 16 is covered by a casing head 64 having a central opening 61 forslidably receiving an auxiliary vacuum insulating sleeve 62, the lowerend of which screws onto external threads 63 of a coupling 64 which takethe place of the coupling 24in the apparatus. The upper end of sleeve 62has an internal collar 65 which is fitted with a vacuum pipe 66 and hasI an axial hole 67 which slidably receives the steam pipe 22. The casinghead 60 is also equipped with a vacuum pipe 68 which communicates withthe space 69' formed between casing 16 and sleeve 62.

In the operation of the modified form of apparatus just described, thevacuum pipe 68 connects to the power evacuator above described asconnecting with vacuum pipe 23 and a separate evacuator (also not shown)is provided which connects with vacuum pipe 66. During the operation ofthe modified apparatus both of these evacuators are power driven toseparately impose an approximate vacuum on both the space 69 and thespace 70 which is formed between the insulating sleeve 62 and the steampipe 22. An auxiliary vacuum insulation heat barrier is thus formedimmediately about the steam pipe 22 which augments the insulating effectof the approximate vacuum also maintained in the space 68 between thecasing and the sleeve 62.

It is thus seen that we have produced an apparatus for steam treating adeep 'well by which are obtained all of the objects and advantages setforth hereinabove as goals of the present invention.

While only a single preferred embodiment and one modified formof theapparatus of the invention have been disclosed herein, it is to beunderstood that this is for illustrative purposes only and that variousfurther changes and modifications might be made therein without,

departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appendedclaims.

The claims are:

1. An apparatus for steam treating a deep Well having a casing, withsaid well extending into an oil bearing stratum below said casing, saidapparatus comprising: a pipe adapted to be extended downwardly throughsaid casing to conduct steam under high temperature and pressure to theportion of said well beneath said casing; and a thermo-responsive packermounted on a lower portion of said pipe and positioned within a lowerportion of said casing when said pipeis so extended downwardly, saidpacker including an expansible thin walled annular hollow sealed jacketof relatively soft metal surrounding and snugly fitting said steam pipeand closely spaced from said casing, and a body of thermo-responsivematerial substantially occupying the space within said jacket having ahigh co-efficient of thermo-expansion, said packer responding to beingheated by super-heated steam delivered downwardly through said pipe byexpanding into tight sealing engagement with said casing thereby packingoff the lower end of the space within said casing surrounding said pipeabove said packer.

2. An apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein there is incorporated withsaid pipe, as a section thereof, a heavy walled tubular packer mandrelon which said annular jacket is mounted, said jacket snugly fitting saidmandrel and being free to extend lengthwise relative to said mandrel;and means to limit endwise movement of said jacket on said mandrel.

3. An apparatus as recited in claim 2 wherein said jacket comprisesinner and outer tubes of aluminum, or other metal of comparableductility, which are integrally united at their opposite ends to producean annular hollow space Within said jacket said jacket beingsubstantially filled with said thermo-responsive material, said outertube having annular convolution means formed therein to permit a middleportion at least of said outer tube to expand radially into sealingengagement with said Well casing under the pressure produced in saidjacket by the heating of said thermo-responsive material.

4. An apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said steam pipe isprovided With a tubular vacuum insulating sleeve which surrounds saidpipe between said packer and the to of the Well; and means for drawing avacuum on the space between said pipe and said sleeve.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS 12/1944 GreatBritain.

15 CHARLES E. OCONNELL, Primary Examiner.

STEPHEN J. NOVOSAD, Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3,352,359 November 14, 1967 Wayne N. Sutliff et a1.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patentrequiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read ascorrected below.

In the heading to the printed specification, lines 4 to 7 for "Wayne N.Sutliff and Meryl W. Sutliff, Bakersfield, Calif. assignors to St. LouisJanitor Supply (10., doing business as Navy Brand Manufacturing Company,St. Louis, Mo., a corporatior of Missouri" read Wayne N. Sutliff, 2901Glenwood Circle, ar Meryl W. Sutliff, 2920 Monterey St. Bakersfield,

Calif. 93306 Signed and sealed this 26th day of November 1968.

(SEAL) Attest:

Edward M. Fletcher, Jr. EDWARD J. BRENNER Attesting Officer Commissionerof Patents

1. AN APPARATUS FOR STEAM TREATING A DEEP WELL HAVING A CASING, WITHSAID WELL EXTENDING INTO AN OIL BEARING STRATUM BELOW SAID CASING, SAIDAPPARATUS COMPRISING: A PIPE ADAPTED TO BE EXTENDED DOWNWARDLY THROUGHSAID CASING TO CONDUCT STEAM UNDER HIGH TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE TO THEPORTION OF SAID WELL BENEATH SAID CASING; AND A THERMO-RESPONSIVE PACKERMOUNTED ON A LOWER PORTION OF SAID PIPE AND POSITIONED WITHIN A LOWERPORTION OF SAID CASING WHEN SAID PIPE IS SO EXTEND DOWNWARDLY, SAIDPACKER INCLUDING AN EXPANSIBLE THIN WALLED ANNULAR HOLLOW SEALED JACKETOF RELATIVELY SOFT METAL SURROUNDING AND SNUGLY FITTING SAID STEAM PIPEAND CLOSELY SPACED FROM SAID CASING, AND A BODY OF THERMO-RESPONSIVEMATERIAL SUBSTANTIALLY OCCUPYING THE SPACE WITHIN SAID JACKET HAVING AHIGH CO-EFFICIENT OF THERMO-EXPANSION, SAID PACKER RESPONDING TO BEINGHEATED BY SUPER-HEATED STEAM DELIVERED DOWNWARDLY THROUGH SAID PIPE BYEXPANDING INTO TIGHT SEALING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID CASING THEREBY PACKINGOFF THE LOWER END OF THE SPACE WITHIN SAID CASING SURROUNDING SAID PIPEABOVE SAID PACKER.